Improvement in hats and gaps



UNITED; STATES PATENT @tirreno WILLIAM H. VHITE, OF WESTRIVER, MARYLAND.

IMPROVEMENT IN HATUS AND CAPS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 54,049, dated April 17, 1866.

To all whom it' may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. WHITE, of West River, in the county ot' Anne Arundel and'State of Maryland, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Hats, Gaps, Snc.; and I hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

The object of the presentimprovement is to reduce the cost of manufacture of hats, caps, and other articles of head-dress, and also to introduce notable economy in the use of such articles.

The principle of my invention will be understood from the following` description oi' the manner in which the same is or may be carried into effect as applied to hats and caps.

The hat as made in accordance with this my invention is composed of two parts-to wit, a frame of steel, whalebone, hard rubber, rattan, or other such flexible and elastic substance, and of a wrapper made ot' silk, cloth, linen, cotton, or other brous or textile material or of suitable thin leather. The former or the frame is composed of two hoops braced or united by means of wire, steel, or other metal strips, or by means of tapes. They may be concentric or eccentric within the same plane, or the frame ma-y be composed of' an outside hoop and of a section or part of a hoop united to it, so as to give it a certain amount of rigidity or stiffness to permanently maintain its shape.

In Figures l, 2, and 3 I have represented three dii'erentmoditications or forms of frames. The tirst consists of an inner rim or hook, et, with which is combined an outer hoop, b. by means of a bent strip, c, which maintains the latter in an eccentric relation to the former. In Fig. 2 two concentric hoops, el and e, are shown, united by means of a double-bentstrip, f,which is soldered or otherwise united to parts diametrically opposite. For certain purposes to be hereinafter described the braces uniting the inner` and outer hoops at diametrically-opposite points are multiplied, as shown in Fig. 3. The wrapper of which the head-dress is made, in accordance with my invention, is composed of a quadrangular or otherwise suitablyshaped piece of fabric, g, sewed together at its opposite edges, so as to form a continuous or cylindrical piece, in which three parallel draw-casings are formed, one at the upper, the other at theunder edge, and the third in the center, or thereabout, of the fabric. Through these casings draw-strings /t` are passed. Fig. 4 ot' the said drawingsv shows inelevation such a wrapper, and Fig. 5 a vertical section through' the same.

The construction ot' each'of the parts constitntin g my improved head-dress being understood, I shall now proceed to describe the manner in which the same are used together to con stitute a hat.

I take a frame, such as described, and place it within the wrapper in a position between and parallel with the planes of two of the draw-strings. I then draw the strings so as to contract the upper and lower openings, as shown in Fig. 6, which represents an intermediate stage ot' operation. The top portion (marked j) is then drawn through the larger opening lc, and the whole is inverted. The opening at 7c now forms the border ot' the crown at and above the rim of the hat, while the casing l determines the size ot' the hat around the head. By drawing the string at j close together, the wrapper will be gathered so as to leave a central Ventilating-opening in the top or crown ot' the hat. The string of the casin g at Zis drawn to suit the size of the head, and, lastly, the stringof the casin g at 7c is drawn to snugly iit and bind the wrapper around the frame. The requisite arched shape is given the rim by drawing the last-named string more or less tightly. Fig. 9 shows, in sect-ion, a hat made as last described. Figs. 7 and 8 are perspective views of a cap and hat, respectively, made in the same way, the frame in the former being that represented in Fig. l. Hats or caps so made may be ornamented in the usual manner by means ot' bands or ribbons or buckles, and may be provided with the usual internal sweat-band.

I am aware that steel hoops have been used for the purpose of extcndin g or stretching the rims ot' hats; but such is not the object of my invention. To stretch a rim already formed by means ot' a hoop, and a hoop or frame to form a rim, are two distinct and independent inventions. Also, in the former case, a single hoop could be used, or two or more hoops which are disconnected from each other, while in this instance a single hoop could not be used., nor two or more, without their being mutually braced, so as to form a frame.

The advantages which I attain by this construction are numerous. I shall mention, first, the Wrapper being easily detachable from the frame, it can be frequently renewed and changed. It can be washed, so that it will afford the comfort of having` always a clean` head-dress. With each frame, therefore, a number of wrappers of various materials may be used to suit different seasons or temperatures.

Second, the drawing-string on the upper part of the rim allows of variations in the style and outside form of the rim, as well as of variationsin the contour line of the interior of the hat. To properly arch the rim above the ears,

I stiften the frame by the interposition of a number of stays, m,as shownin Fi,.3,between the hoops, which will also have the effect of elongating the hat, so that the same frame may be used by persons of various configurations of their skulls.

- rIhird, the middle drawing-string, l, which, when the hat is formed, is the under drawingstring, allows of the most perfect fit of the hat and ease to the wearer.

It will be understood that my invention is susceptible of many modifications without de- XVitnesses Jos. L. GooMBs, JOHN S. HOLLINGSHEAD. 

